Skysight: The Story of NASA & DLR’s Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy

The Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA), jointly built by NASA and the German Aerospace Center (DLR), allows astronomers to study the Universe with a telescope mounted in a Boeing 747. SOFIA’s 100-inch telescope is the same size as the Hubble Space Telescope, and from 45,000 feet above the Earth’s surface, it can detect Infrared light that’s invisible to ground-based telescopes. Because it flies on nightly missions, SOFIA gives scientists flexibility to change equipment depending on what they’re observing, which helps us better understand the wonders of our Universe.